Various systems and methods are conventionally employed to illuminate spaces located in a building. Lighting can be provided directly, indirectly or diffusely depending on the space, purpose of illumination and user preference. In a standard configuration, an illumination device includes a housing a mounting bracket and a light element receptacle. The housing can be fabricated utilizing any number of materials such as brass, aluminum, stainless steel, or any number of plastics. The light element receptacle can accept specific elements manufactured for such a purpose. Such element types include incandescent, halogen, compact fluorescent, fluorescent, high intensity discharge (HID) and the like.
For some applications, a multi-function device may be desired to provide one or more disparate features. For example, additional features such as air purification, smoke detection or ventilation may be desired. Conventionally, such multi-function devices employ non-functional designs that are well known in the art. A cosmetic housing or other ornamental feature may be employed to provide continuity with a particular design scheme.
Ventilation devices have been available for many years. Many of these products are recessed in a ceiling and connected to a duct leading to the exterior of a home or other structure. A basic ventilation device includes an electrical enclosure and a fan driven by an electric motor. Typically, the device is switched so that a user may energize the motor causing the fan to draw air through a grill and exhaust it through the duct to the outside atmosphere. Over the years, additional features have been added to ventilation devices. For example, some ventilation devices now include a ceiling light. The ceiling light is typically a conventional light bulb in the enclosure with a translucent diffuser or lens below it. In many products, the exhaust fan is separately switched from the light.
Conventional and/or multi-function devices suffer from several drawbacks such as excessive noise; inefficient design, awkward installation, incompatibility with electrical interfaces, difficult maintenance and the like. Such difficulties can be caused by inadequate or poor design and/or incorrect implementation of the lighting device. What are needed are systems and methods that address shortcomings associated with conventional lighting and multifunction devices.